The artists and entertainers of the Yarra Ranges were in the spotlight in 2024.
Take your mind back to some of the local talents on display throughout the year:
One young artist and a local business teamed up to hold a touching and tender exhibition in the Warburton Waterwheel Gallery in October.
Little Yarra Steiner School student Amber Hamer ‘explored death through art’ in Talking Tender, with Tender Funerals Geater Eastern Melbourne holding a series of talks and workshops exploring end-of-life care and funeral planning throughout the month in the gallery.
Ms Hamer said in her pieces, she has focused on how death intertwines with time, fear, and transformation.
“I chose to explore the theme of death because I believe it’s a topic that deserves more thought and conversation, death is a universal experience, yet we often avoid discussing it openly,” she said.
“My artworks are intended to invite the viewer to explore their own perceptions of death with an open mind, this is something I am passionate about as I believe through death there is a lot we can learn about life.”
Tender Funerals Greater Eastern Melbourne Community Activator Melinda Whyman it was fabulous to have Ms Hamer’s work included and bring conversations about death into the public space.
“It’s a very brave project that she’s embarked on and particularly at such a tender age to be interested and willing to have that conversation about end of life and wanting to encourage other people to have that conversation,” she said.
Some more of the brightest young artists across the Yarra Ranges had the chance to display their work in April.
Yarra Ranges Council and the Burrinja Cultural Centre once again partnered up to host the Creative Showcase in The Memo in Healesville, displaying the works of 32 artists who had completed units 3 and 4 in VCE Art and Studio Art or their final year of VCAL the year prior.
Former Lilydale High School student Ken Roberts displayed two dresses that they sewed and said they had been waiting for an opportunity to exhibit their artworks.
“When I was in VCE, we came in here [The Memo] seeing some different artworks and seeing different emotions and opinions, I was like ‘I want mine to be projected, I want people to experience mine.’,” they said.
“Both of my artworks are about identity, and the black one [My identity is stigma] is more of a reflection about my identity, how people’s perception can restrict and harm me and how I view myself,”
“The white one [Your identity is…] is more of a focus on how broad and different everybody experiences identity and how identity runs through our blood and determines our whole entire lives.”
The Memo also hosted an acrobatic display by the award-winning First Nations Na Djinang Circus (NDC) in December, a Melbourne-based contemporary circus company working with diverse young artists ‘to share unique insight with the next generation’s hands and feet.’
The team performed their 60-minute, four-person Arterial show, a combination of tumbling, group acrobatics and pyramids, modern cultural dance and aerial work.
NDC artistic custodian Harley Mann said Arterial is the second work by Na Djinang with the cast of all First Nations performers.
“We have a way of trusting and supporting each other, and these connections translate beautifully to a circus where safety is literally in each other’s hands,” he said.
“Circus has a huge underrepresentation of mob and so even the act of having four black acrobats on stage should be celebrated, let alone the incredible things they do,”
“This continent is full of rich and complex history, and Healesville is no exception to this. We are very excited to spend time in this country with the traditional towns and hear some of the stories.”
Moving into the world of music, a Yarra Valley-based band celebrated scaling the ARIA charts in 2024.
Smoke Stack Rhino’s new album The Mojo Dojo, released in July, ranked 17th place in the ARIA Top 20 Australian Albums and second place in the ARIA Top 20 Jazz and Blues Albums.
Singer and guitarist Ash King said the trio hadn’t expected to be able to get high in the charts.
“It’s amazing and heart-warming. We feel grateful to everyone who’s been supportive of us through picking up the album, having a listen or coming along to one of the gigs or festivals that we played to fund it,” he said.
“We weren’t expecting to do that well at all as an independent band without any support of a record label, distributor or management company.”
Smoke Stack Rhino was formed in 2013 with the idea of being what Rage Against the Machine would sound like playing blues music.
“It’s not as hard as what you might expect, and it’d be good to help some other local artist to achieve the same thing that we have done,” King said.
“We’ve got good talent out here, and I might look into trying to do some events to help some other people who’ve got music coming out.”
One local music event that helped shine a light on local musicians and support a much-loved community group made a triumphant return in 2024.
After an eight-year hiatus, the Koha Community Café’s Music Festival Fundraiser was held in July, having originally been the idea of Michelle Fisher and Lily Hellicar years ago.
The lineup featured Szara Fox and the Midnight Secrets, Tim Ireland and The Captain, The Idle Idolisers, Beez Neez, Starvation Creek, TOIL and Bluffy who kindly donated their time and talents to the event.
Suyin Chan and Michelle Fisher of the Koha Community Café said in the tradition of Koha café, the event was not just about feeding people but also bringing the community together.
“We believe that this is why past Koha music festivals have been so successful, everyone has a soft spot for Koha Café, it’s been a staple in this community for nearly 15 years and what better way to bring the community together than good food, good music and a dance,”
“The Koha music festival has always been popular because it brings everyone together, all different ages and reminds us how important community is.”
The Café raised $6755.50 from the event, which was estimated to cover the cost of about 1000 meals for community members.
In the world of film, a documentary filmed by a pair of Warburton locals took out the Best Melbourne Documentary award at the 2024 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
Belinda Lloyd and Larry Lawson’s ‘To Thank The Room’, which captured the last 100 days of the much-loved Brooklyn Arts Hotel in Fitzroy and followed its effervescent owner Maggie Fooke, was completed last year and has now been given an extended run at Cinema Nova in Carlton.
Ms Lloyd said winning the award was an extraordinary experience.
“After so long loving, holding and believing in the project (we started shooting in December 2019), to have won this award means it has wind under its wings, and many more people will see it, which is just fantastic and what you always hope will justify the time and energy we dedicated to it,” she said.
“I think our tiny team did a great job of weaving a heartful and interesting story in such a way as to be moving, inspiring and relatable, and of course, it’s a very Melbourne story and Maggie – the ’star’ is an extraordinary and inspiring woman.”
